Piano attachment for operating musical instruments.



P. VON ROHL. .PIANO ATTACHMENT FOR OPERATING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED APR-19. I916- 2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

' WIT/158858.- INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented July 10, 1917.

, P. van ROHL. PIANO ATTACHMENT FOR OPERATINGMUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED APR.19, 1916. 7 1,233,148. Patented July 10, 1917.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- 2y: 1 5

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PAUL VON ROHL, OF NEW YORK,

N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO PAUL LASRICI'I AND ONE-THIRD TO ERNEST FBUI-INER, BOTH OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PIANO ATTACHMENT FOB, OPERATING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 10, 1917.

Application filed April 1.9, 1916. Serial No. 92,197.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that 1, PAUL VON RoHL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the borough of the Bronx, in the county of the Bronx and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Piano Attachments for Operating Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved at tachment for musical instruments, and more particularly such an attachment for pianos or player-pianos, with which one or a numher of additional instruments may be played by the manual or mechanical operation of a single instrument. With my improvements, a niunber of different instruments, such for instance as a piano and an organ or a piano and chimes, or drums, whistles, Xylophones, etc., and any combination of these or other similar instruments may be played by a single performer or by a single mechanical v player in the same room, such for instance as a moving-picture theater, to present an orchestration effect, or the different instruments may be played at different places. This last-mentioned possibility will find many advantageous uses, for instance, an artist may conduct a number of concerts, himself being present atonly one, and many other, similar uses will present themselves.

An object of the invention is to provide such a device which may be readily applied to any instrument and will be positive in operation, simple in construction, and inexpensive to manufacture.

With these and other objects in view, my invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, and will be hereinafter more fully described with reference thereto and finally pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 represents a vertical transverse section through a piano keyboard embodying this invention.

Fig. 2 represents a front elevation of a transmitting electromagnetic transmitting attachment for operating a supplementary musical instrument, the central portion being broken out.

Fig. 3 represents a front elevation of a fragment of a mechanically actuated transmitting mechanism.

Fig. l represents a plan thereof.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several ligures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to Fig. 1 thereof, a key 10 being one of the series of keys constituting the keyboard of the primary musical instrument, is pivoted at 11 to a base 12 and operates a piano hammer in the ordinary manner. Above the key at the rear thereof, there is provided a perpendicularly disposed board 13, on which there is arranged a bracket Il, having a pair of arms 15 and 16 having bearings 17 and 18 therein, in which is guided a pitman 19, which is provided at its lower end with an enlarged portion 20, which rests on an adjustable support 21. A spring 22 is arranged on the said pitman, and engages at its upper end the bearing 17 and rests at its lower end on an adjustable collar 23. A contact plate 24. is secured at the upper side of the board 13, and is slightly spaced from the upper end of the rod 19 in rest position of the key and is engaged by the said rod when the key is depressed.

A vertical support 25 is provided on the bracket 1%, having an insulated top 26 upon which the contact plates 24 rest.

An electric wire 27 is grounded on the bracket 14E by means of a longitudinal plate 28, and is connected at its other end to an 'electro-magnet 29. A second electric wire 30 is connected at one end to the contact plate 2i. and at the other end to a plate 31, to which the electro-magnets 29 are connected, a source of electric power 32 being provided in circuit.

The electro-magnets are preferably disposed in the additional instrument to be played. In the example illustrated they are arranged on a board 33 provided with cylindrical holes 3% beneath the several magnets respectively. Tubes 36 having flanges 37 which constitute valve seats, are disposed below the holes 34. Valves 35 normally rest on said valve seats and close the tubes 36. The stems of these valves slide in the holes 34, moving upward when the electro-magnets are energized and dropping downward by gravity when said magnets are cut out. The tube 36 is connected by means of a flexible tube 38 to one arm of a Y-shaped tubejoint 39, which is in turn connected by a flexible tube 4.0 to a pneumatic member 41,

whichoperatesa playing element 42, which may be connected to the corresponding sounding device of any suitable instrument.

n operation a key 10 is depressed,"causing the pitman 19 to close contact with the plate 24 and theclosure member 35 to be raised from its seat by the electro-magnet 29. The pipe 40 is ,thu s vented, the pneumatic 41 thereby actuated'and the'pla'ying element 42 of the secondaryinstrument operated in unison with the key 10.

An auxiliary .mechanical vtransmitting ,de-

v ce is also provided in connection withthe keys of the piano, which .W'ill cause ,the

pneumatic to operate :in the event of the failure of-the transmitter to operate. This auxiliary device comprises a bar' 43 provided beneath the ikeybed :12, supported 7 at its rear endby a, strip 44 andat. the vfront end .bya-longitudinal slottedsbar 45,.supportedat intervals .from the;key bed 12-;by hangers 46. The bars 43 are secured. tothe slotted bar;45; byscrews 4,7. I The slotted; bar 45, it willbeseen, permits adjustment of the-bars 43 With respect'tothe piano-keys. A cylindrical opening 48- isprovided; in the ba1g43, which is comiected byfmeans of a flexible tube 49 with the ,Y-shaped tube -joint 39. A felt or leather was her 5.0 ;is,proded the upp n id 10 th aopening .4 n I th pe i g is i 1mally;el0se ,by. a fiap;yalve 51 of spring metal, secured at-, 5 2 h ab 4 an en e n it zm r e by ,.,o ,W ch-i ispose 'l i 54.;which bears on the; flap -va lve and ,holds the same close engagement with ,the washer 50. TThe outer end of the valve 51 is connected by means of a, rod; 55, wi th the plano key 10, so; that,by 1 depression offthe key the valve-is lifteda-nd air admitted to the, pneumatic.

-In theuse ,of this attachment, the ,depressionv of the keys as, 1 0, of the keyboard instrument to which 2 the attachment is ap plied, simultaneously opens the valves 51 and. 35 of the mechanical and electromagneticr devices respectively andair is ted through the branches 38 and ,49fand trunks, 4Q of,.t'he forked ,tubestq ,the pneumatics 41,, 1 causing, the tllewsptb collapse and the playing" elements as,42 to be ape ated in unison and (5 orres'pon'dence (the prim ry u n a a a ,W'hen both deyices are used, the action is simultaneous, but vit will be. understood that one form onlymay be used, if,desired, the

electric attachment being especially useful st n aw r h 1a na1ie tr ment.

I hav ill s rat d andd scrib d pre er e "as defined i to operate I an instrument'comprising a pneumatic adapted additional instrument, an air tube "forked at one end and connected at its single end with said pneumatic, valves normally closing theforked ends of said tube, a mechanical actuator for operating one of said valves, and electromagnetic actuator for operatingthe othervalve, said mechanical actuator and electromagnetic actuator being in touch respectively j with opposite sides of the samekey of the musical instrument a simul a e u y, pera ed yt pr s'ion thereof.

2. An attachment for a keyboard musical instrument comprising a support disposed abovethelreyboard of the primary musical instrument transversely of the keys thereof, brackets secured thereto abovejthe several keys and provided ,with guide, bearings disposed invertical alinement and ith rests above said bearings, flexiblecontactarms secured I to 1 said support and normally 'eneasing sa ..t t ont tr da l i said guide bearings underneath "said conta arm sp n normally h l n a rods in touch at their lowerends with said keys and permitting them to 1 belifted into contact with said arms by, the Idepr'essioii'of said, keys, Pneumatics adapted to operate an additional. instrument, air 'tube's lfor' actuating :said pnefuinatics, valves for j closing said air tubes', electromagnetsfon actuating said va lves, and "electriewireS connecting said electromagnets With $til "apnea arms.

3. An; attachmentior v a, keyboard musical trument e m r s ngaberd sp e b e thenkeybed and provided with aseries of air-openings, a series of fiexible valve strips secured to saidbar a seriesof springs normally holding said strips infclosing position over said air o enings, series of lifting rods connected atth eir upper ends with thekeys of said keyboard and at-theiir lower ends With saidflflexible valve strips, pneumaticsfadapted :to actuate an additional musical instrument, and 'tubes connecting said air openings: with said pneumatics.

, n pesnmcn that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signed my name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

. HeB r Ca m S. BLUNT.

ponies, ofithisnatentgnay ,be ,o b tai ncd i'or five cents each, by addressing the fqgrn nissiener ofg latents, 

